For Starters

• Think back to elementary school, were you ever accused of something (by a friend, frenemy, or a teacher) that you didn’t do? What did you feel like in that situation? How did that situation resolve itself? Talk to your neighbors before sharing with the class.

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• BONUS Question: Think back to elementary school again, did you ever do something in school and someone else got the blame for it?

Think-Pair-Share

• Do you think our justice system built to protect people that are falsely accused? Similarly, do you think our world today can reliably catch people who are guilty of a crime? Share with your neighrbors before coming back to the class - after discussion, we’ll start today’s assignment.

For the Jury to Consider

• David Jones is accused of robbing from his business partner, Jane Kennedy, of her safe containing over $150,000 and sensitive business contracts.
• As a member of the jury, your job will be to consider facts from the case and decide if Defendant David Jones is guilty of committing Grand Larceny against Jane Kennedy.
• Everyone on the jury must agree if David is guilty or not guilty
• The jury can request to see video of any of the court testimonies at any time, as well as any of the documents associated with the case.

Key People

Defendant: David Jones

is being sued or accused of a crime by Jane

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Plaintiff: Jane Kennedy

Jane is accusing David of a crime

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Key Vocabulary

Defendant:

a person who is being sued or accused of a crime in a court of law (ex: The jury believed that the defendant was guilty.)

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Plaintiff:

a person who sues another person or accuses another person of a crime in a court of law

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Prosecution:

the act or process of holding a trial against a person who is accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty

Grand Larceny

the crime of stealing something that is very valuable

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Robbery:

the crime of stealing money or property : the crime of robbing a person or place

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Testimonies:

something that someone says especially in a court of law while formally promising to tell the truth

What is Larceny?

Check for Understanding

What is the difference between Larceny and Robbery?

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Why wouldn’t Jones be charged with Robbery in this situation?

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Information Accepted as Fact by the Court

• The Defendant, David Jones, is accused of robbing from his business partner, �Jane Kennedy, of her safe, containing over $150,000 and sensitive business contracts.
• Jones is also accused of calling clients who intended to leave his firm for Kennedy’s new practice. He is accused of using an “Alcatel A206” a model produced by TracFone.

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Below is the information introduced by the prosecution and defense and accepted as fact by the court.

David Jones, in his testimony on February 10th. ��NOTE: Everyone pictured in this presentation are actors. The event described is entirely fictional.

Prosecution

• Victim’s Neighbor testified that they heard a crash on June 30th at 10:35 P.M. The neighbor witnessed a man put a heavy object into a Mustang and drive away at approx. 10:37 P.M.
• Another neighbor saw a figure sitting in a mustang near Kennedy’s home throughout the day.
• A 1965 Mustang is registered in Jones’ name. There are two mustangs of that make, model and color registered in the city.
• The morning before the robbery, Kennedy’s husband testified that he woke up to David threatening to “Destroy Jane” and that Jane “stole half his clients.” Kennedy’s husband testified that the two worked intense cases and that disagreements happened, but this one was “more fiery than usual”
• Kennedy testified that Jones demanded to get in the safe during the argument.
• Aside from the robbed safe, the house was undisturbed.

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Jane Kennedy, in her February 9th Testimony.

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NOTE: Everyone pictured in this presentation are actors. The event described is entirely fictional.

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Watch Jane’s Testimony Here

Defense

• Financial records indicate Jones that Jones has acquired �no new wealth since the robbery.
• The safe has not been found in a full search of Jones home, beach house, vehicles, and storage units.
• Jones testified that he had argued with Kennedy, but says he just lost his temper in the heat of the moment. Jones claimed Jane had lost him several contracts, nearly ruining his business.
• Jones girlfriend, Pearl, said she and Jones had dinner at her home at 8:00 and he stayed through 11:00 P.M., after the robbery had occured. She said Jones was stressed about work.
• Colorado City’s PD also confirmed that Jones has not renewed the tags on his Mustang in 3 years.
• The Defense showed the alleged calls to Jane’s clients were made from a phone purchased with cash, and there’s no evidence that the phone was purchased or used by Jones.

A photo from Pearl Williams’ testimony. Pearl is David Jones’ girlfriend, and testified he was having dinner at her house from 8-11 P.M. on the night of the break-in (Reminder: break-in occurred at 10:35 P.M).

Watch David’s Testimony Here

Additional Facts in the Case

• Jane Kennedy planned to establish her own business, several of her biggest clients signed confidentiality agreements, which she claims were placed in the safe.
• Kennedy and her husband left that night to go to a restaurant. Two servers and a bartender at the restaurant confirmed their presence there until midnight.
• Only DNA samples found at the scene were of David Jones, Jane Kennedy and Kennedy’s Husband.
• After the robbery, Jane’s potential clients have received anonymous calls from July 2nd-July 8th threatening them if they partner with Jane, and three fourths have since re-confirmed with Jones. The Prosecution claims the anonymous caller had internal knowledge of the business.
• In an anonymous survey by the prosecution, 47% of Jones’ clients said they would either move with Jane or strongly consider staying with Jane if/when she broke away from Jones’ firm.�

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Officer Sam Taylor, in her February 10th testimony, confirmed the existence of the threatening phone calls and DNA found at the scene�

NOTE: Everyone pictured in this presentation are actors. The event described is entirely fictional.

Links to Additional Information

• Link to ALL Day 1 Testimonies (from the Prosecution)
• Link to ALL Day 2 Testimonies (from the Defense)
• Link to ALL Case Documents

Your Verdict

• Review: The Defendant, David Jones, is accused of robbing from his business partner, Jane Kennedy, of her safe, containing over $150,000 and sensitive business contracts. Jones is also accused of calling clients who intended to leave his firm for Jane Kennedy’s new practice. He is accused of making a cash purchase of an “Alcatel A206” by TracFone to make the calls. All calls were made from July 2nd-8th.
• If found guilty of Grand Larceny, David Jones is facing 3-5 years in prison and will pay $1.1 million in fines to Jane Kennedy.
• What is the Jury’s Verdict? Talk with your group and decide.
• Due to the Presumption of Innocence, a Jury will decide “not guilty” or “guilty.”�

NOTE: In a real trial, Jones would likely be accused of additional charges. �For the simplicity of this assignment, he is only accused of Grand Larceny in this case.